The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
RFID tag reader systems (TRS) are used to track RFID tags often must be able to detect numerous tags crossing a detection point within a very short period of time. For example, RFID tag reader systems are often used in sporting events to time participants of such events. In such applications, that include marathon races, the RFID tag readers for the sports timing systems have a very difficult job as they are required to read hundreds, or perhaps thousands of timing participant identifiers as they cross a start, split, or finish line. The technology typically used by other systems can very susceptible to electrical interference, weather, and other factors. The RFID race timing systems operates at an ultra-high frequency and is less susceptible to interference. This helps reduce the number of problems the user might experience on race day. Many such systems use a passive participant identifier that does not require a battery. The participant identifier operates in the Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) range, which provides a more consistent and clean signal. Some of these systems often use low frequency (LF) participant identifiers that can be susceptible to interference from things like electrical power lines, rebar in concrete roads, mobile telephone systems or storms. UHF signals travel in a direction commonly referred to as line-of-sight. This simply means that the signal is highly concentrated in a single direction, and that is why it works so well for timing races.
While current RFID readers can have an overall participant identifier read success can range from 98.0% to 100% with as many as 30 participants crossing a finish line within a 1-second period, some tags cannot be read and their passing of the detection point information is never automatically recorded by the RFID readers. As such, there is a need for providing methods and systems for enabling supplemental tag reads.
The inventor hereof has identified the problems of using an RFID tag reading system for timing sporting events where there are a large number of participants, and the system experiences a failure to read 100% of the RFID tags worn by the participants. The inventor has identified the need to ensure that timing information is collected for as many participants as possible including 100 percent.